Run Your Home at its Best

The average costs for electricity from APS or SRP is around $0.12 per kWh. Imagine paying $450 per kWh for electricity. That’s what most of today’s electric vehicle (EV) owners are paying for a battery to power their cars. To put this into perspective, the Chevy Volt will cost owners 2 cents per mile to drive compared to the 12 cents per mile on gasoline at a price of $3.60 a gallon. Or a trip from Phoenix to Tucson would run a measly $1.98 on electricity or almost 6 times that at $11.88 on gas.

Shocking as the $450 per kWh may be, a decrease to $300 per kWh is considered the tipping point to mass market uptake. An article published by webtech company, GigaOm, sites that leasing the battery is one solution to bring down the battery costs. If you have thought about installing solar panels for your home, you’ve probably heard about solar leasing programs or PPA’s for larger solar applications, some groups are applying this concept to the electric car market. It will be interesting to watch if and how automakers and startup companies adopt the electric vehicle lease; and also how the EV infrastructure is built-up to meet demand.

Many homeowners have an old furnace system or gas water heater and want to know if it is cost-effective to switch to an electric heat pump or conventional or hybrid water heater. By comparing the efficiencies, initial cost and lifetime of the unit you can make an informed decision as to which one is right for you.Estimated annual energy usage will vary depending on lifestyle but this table gives a good starting point. Take a look at the annual cost table to get an idea payback and cost-effectiveness for your switch.

Don’t forget the “kicker” factors that also must be considered – such as if you already have gas appliances. If so, you are already paying around $30 just for having a gas line so you will not be “penalized” for adding a new line (plus $1,000 to have a new gas line tied to your home from Southwest Gas). This would be a factor if a homeowner had all electric appliances and wanted to switch to a gas tankless water heater.